Sandra777

Most important is the owner because with Staffords it's not just these pups but the entire breed which could suffer badly if pups were placed in the wrong hands. Different breed I would definitely have answered that the bitch is the most important thing.

Why would he not know this? You definitely have a lot of "a crate is a prison" thinking to get over :) I promise you, dogs think of their crates as dens not prisons (correctly used of course!) What sized pup? I second whoever it was who suggested a playpen - better option than a crate if there's a bit of room for it if the pup is going to be in there for anything more than 20-30 minutes at a stretch. Just have to make sure random people can't interact with the pup if you're not there to supervise.

Great news, I so hope everything goes well for the pups.

Sorted thanks :D

What does her breeder say about the cycles of her mum, sisters, aunts etc? Cycles don't always follow what relations have done but often do.

Yay for four little heart beats :-)

Sorry for your loss Depends on the dogs, but I would agree with creating a new routine. We lost Dallas in March and his sister Poppy mourned for him for just about 6 months - she had only come to live with us the previous June, they weren't life long buddies. The rest of our dogs didn't even seem to know or care he was gone.

Less healthy - One of the Scandinavian KC's (Finland? Sweden?) has banned the registration of pups from mating of blue to blue. 'nuff said "Staffy like" - I assume you mean correct conformation? Nothing changed there except for the worse in almost all cases. Market Dominant - got worse. Closing in on 65% of pups registered in the UK last year were blue and in the last three months of registrations notified in the Queensland Dog World (which is the one I get so the only one I can go by) there were over 60 litters registered and all but 10 were blue.

No experience with this so no help at all, but thinking of you and your bitch at this worrying time.

The ANKC can't even manage to record simple DNA testing results, a database recording the infinite causes of death would be asking for a miracle.

I would definitely wait for physical maturity, which not only varies from breed to breed but also dog to dog. All the common "issues" people have with entire dogs can be managed with good training.

Many years ago a bitch of mine got pyo on her first heat, so very young. Treated with ABs and she went on to have a successful breeding career. She was bred on her 2nd heat - normal back then but not every heat and had no issues. Older bitches are a different proposition IME. Definitely needs a vet with experience with the condition and very careful monitoring. Good luck!

Agree with Christina a questionnaire may only show the people who have figured out the 'right' answers. Not saying the questionnaire would be more than a first screening point though :-) I have always had more success with a general conversation filled with gentle questions and being quiet long enough to encourage people to simply talk rather than answering my questions.

I suggest you check out the litters listed on DOL for Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Pretty hard to sink lower than that, even by using Gumtree.

Lamb brisket & lamb flaps are two very different parts of the animal :) Brisket from any animal is banned here after we lost a dog to one (yes, supervised) and I know of several other Staffords which have choked and died on brisket. If the dog has strong enough jaws to crush the brisket without having to actually chew pieces off, it can then try to swallow the crushed piece whole, which usually doesn't end well. Lamb flaps are the last piece of the rib cage with the fatty belly attached or hot - flat and very good for the crazy strong jawed type of dog.

I have never heard of confining a pup to a small area "at all times" as a method of toilet training. Everyone I have ever heard of using confinement only uses it when they can't actively supervise. I second third and fourth getting the pup out of solitary confinement and in to being a part of your family. Somehow you must be able to make an area outside so the pup can be a pup?

Gremlins

He's trained you pretty well hasn't he :-) Just give him the food you want him to eat and leave him for ten minutes. Whatever is left gets taken away and he gets nothing - no treats, no scraps, absolutely nothing, until the next meal time. He's getting to the age that his major growth is done (bone wise) so he needs less food so he can afford to miss a meal or two. Once you have retrained him to realize that you give food at set times and he'd better eat when it's offered you can try him with different foods if you want to. Mine get a mixture of dry and raw - chicken bodies, beef ribs, sardines, eggs and kangaroo mostly.

I think pulling your hand away could make her keener to snatch - to get the food before it's gone. Try not doing this and put a glove on if she snatches too much and hurts.

Worming a normal adult dog every month is excessive and unnecessary unless you are in a position where the dog is going to have access to wild animal poo. How about worming 3 monthly with something like Drontal, End... (all I can think of is Endone, oops!) or some other vet-quality pill. AFAIK you don't need to be concerned by heartworm in Melbourne but definitely check that out. Fleas - depends on what the dog does honestly. If you live in a house on a concrete slab with no random cats or wild life wandering around then this seriously limits the opportunity for fleas to even appear. Flea-only treatment as and when required would be my choice - comfortis would perhaps even do the job if the dog has limited opportunities to be infested. Once a month treatments for "everything" are crazy in most situations IMO.

You need to get all the "fluffy" out of her coat regardless if it's short or long - undercoat or "fluffy" coat is what keeps the dog's body heat in. So get her undercoat/fluff out and then see what she's like. Clipping the stomach is often enough, leave her looking like a Cav on the outside but all nekkid underneath :laugh: Personally I never understand why people buy a dog with a coat then chop it all off, but that's entirely the owner's choice.

Completely OT but I put it here because I guess you'll notice it :D - Did you find a video player? We have one here we've borrowed let me know if you want to borrow it too

Sounds unlikely to me but that's OK there's some vicious Japanese hunting dogs to take the blame. RIP Mia

Have my own hydrobath. If he's really phobic about water though I'm not sure a hydrobath would be great because the pump does make a bit of noise and combined with water.... well.... Mobile dog washers are probably OK because you're not "leaving" your dog anywhere - you can stand right there and watch if you want to. Only problem I have with communal hydrobaths whether they're in a pet shop, car wash or mobile trailer is you have no way of knowing what the dog before yours had and how well it was cleaned in between times.

When we kept the three we had boarding kennels so plenty of room and someone there 24/7. It's not something I would do now we're on 1/2 an acre in semi-suburbia. Depends on the breed - 3 Stafford puppies would be quite a bit different to 3 Chihuahua puppies :) In terms of time yes of course three is different to two but otherwise, not really.